VCE Psychology Unit 3

Revising the DOT POINT Podcasts - work through dot point sheets with questions.

AOS 1 Mind, Brain and Body


Below are the Dot point sheets and Revision Podcasts

DOT POINT #1
  • consciousness as a psychological construct informed by the work of René Descartes and William James

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast



DOT POINT #2
  • concepts of normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness, including
daydreaming, meditative and alcohol-induced, in terms of levels of awareness, content limitations,
controlled and automatic processes, perceptual and cognitive distortions, emotional awareness,
self-control and time orientation

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast

DOT POINT #3
  • sleep as an altered state of consciousness: purpose, characteristics and patterns of the stages of
sleep including rapid eye movement (REM) and the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of
sleep

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


DOT POINT #4
  • methods used to study the level of alertness in normal waking consciousness and the stages of
sleep:
– measurement of physiological responses including electroencephalograph (EEG), electro-
oculargraph (EOG), heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR)
– the use of sleep laboratories, video monitoring and self reports

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


DOT POINT #5
  • the effects of total and partial sleep deprivation:
– loss of REM and NREM sleep
– sleep recovery patterns including amount of sleep required, REM rebound and microsleeps
– sleep-wake cycle shifts during adolescence compared with child and adult sleep including
delayed onset of sleep and need for sleep

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


DOT POINT #6
  • the interaction between cognitive processes of the brain and its structure including:
– roles of the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system (somatic and autonomic), and
autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic)

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


– roles of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex in the control of motor, somatosensory, visual and
auditory processing in humans; primary cortex and association areas

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


– hemispheric specialisation: the cognitive and behavioural functions of the right and left
hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, non-verbal versus verbal and analytical functions

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


– the role of the reticular activating system in selective attention and wakefulness; role of the
thalamus in directing attention and switching sensory input on and off

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


  • contribution of studies to the investigation of cognitive processes of the brain and implications for
the understanding of consciousness including:
– studies of aphasia including Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia
– spatial neglect caused by stroke or brain injury

Dot Point Sheet

Revision Podcast


– split-brain studies including the work of Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga
– perceptual anomalies including motion after-effect, change blindness, synaesthesia


Practice Questions

  • the application and use of brain research methods in investigating the relationship between biological
and cognitive factors of human behaviours including:
– direct brain stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
– brain recording and imaging techniques: computed tomography (CT), positron emission
tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Dot Point Sheet

Teaching Podcast

  • research methods and ethical principles associated with the study of the brain and states of
consciousness, as outlined in the introduction to the unit.

See Research Methods dot point menu item to go to revision podcasts.